I VI  ^ 


A Forward  Mission 
Movement  in 
North  Korea 

/ 'f, 


i 


k 

I 


HAN  SOK  CHIN. 


A FORWARD  MISSION  MOVEMENT 
IN  NORTH  KOREA 


BY 

Rev.  DANIEL  L.  GIFFORD 


New  York 

THE  EVANGELIST  PRESS 
1897 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/forwardmissionOOgiff 


A FORWARD  i«USSION  MOVEMENT  IN 
NORTH  KOREA 


The  name  of  the  city  of  Pyeng  Yang,  under 
half  a dozen  forms  of  spelling,  is  now  world- 
famous  as  the  scene  of  one  of  the  most  decisive 
battles  in  the  recent  Chino-Japanese  war.  It  may 
be  well  to  mention  that  the  name  of  the  city  is 
pronounced  Ping  Yang.  It  is  by  far  the  most 
important  city  in  the  north  of  Korea,  located 
perhaps  i8o  miles  to  the  north  of  Seoul,  the  cap- 
ital, upon  the  Tatong  river,  and  said  to  have  had 
in  the  days  before  the  war  a population  of  100,000 
people.  Its  history  carries  us  back  to  the  times 
of  King  David,  when  the  Chinese  statesman  Keja, 
in  the  vicissitudes  of  a political  career,  found  the 
climate  of  the  “Land  of  Morning  Calm ’’better 
suited  to  his  health,  and  with  a retinue  of  follow- 
ers he  settled  among  the  aborigines  of  Korea,  in 
what  became  the  city  of  Pyeng  Yang,  with  the 
result  that  from  this  center  radiated  throughout 
the  land  the  relatively  superior  civilization  of 
China.  One  gets  a curious  composite  impression 
of  ancient  and  modern  history  in  visiting  the 
grave  of  Keja,  situated  just  north  of  the  city; 


upon  the  top  of  a knoll  the  semi-globular  grave, 
with  a low,  tiled  stone  wall  half  surrounding  it, 
and  stone  images  and  a sacrificial  slab  in  front  of 
the  mound,  reminding  one  of  a far  antiquity; 
then  the  wooden  shrine,  below  the  knoll,  with  its 
walls  scarred  and  perforated  in  every  direction 
by  the  bullets  of  the  battle  which  raged  over  the 
site,  very  much  in  evidence  of  the  recent  past. 
During  the  making  of  the  nation  the  capital  of 
the  country  had  a wandering  life,  the  most  an- 
cient of  whose  sites,  however,  was  the  city  of 
Pyeng  Yang.  In  later  days  and  until  the  present, 
the  city  has  been  the  provincial  capital  of  Pyeng 
An  Do,  the  most  northwestern  of  the  eight  prov- 
inces into  which  the  country  until  recently  has 
been  divided.  Again  the  city  is  by  far  the  most 
important  commercial  center  in  the  north  of 
Korea.  The  people  are  handsome,  spirited, 
energetic,  with  much  force  and  strength  of  char- 
acter, which  makes  them  a power  either  for  good 
or  for  evil.  Indeed  in  the  past  Pyeng  Yang  had 
the  reputation  for  being  the  wickedest  city  in  the 
country;  one  symptom  of  which  was  the  fact  that 
the  city  was  famed  the  whole  country  over  for 
the  number  of  its  fair  but  frail  dancing  girls, 
whose  numbers,  it  is  said,  have  not  infrequently 
been  recruited  from  the  more  important  and 
influential  families  of  the  city.  How  cruelly  the 
6 


poor  city  has  been  punished,  however,  is  evi- 
denced by  the  great  swathes  of  vacant  house 
sites,  here  and  there  visible  within  the  ancient 
walls,  where  the  homes  of  the  people  were  razed 
to  the  ground  by  the  war.  “Yangbans,”  or  the 
aristocratic  leisure  class,  are  rare  in  the  city  and 
region.  Roman  Catholicism  has  made  nothing 
like  the  impression  in  this  region  that  it  has  in 
the  southern  provinces. 

There  are  a number  of  view-points  from  which 
it  would  be  interesting  to  consider  quite  at  length 
the  city  of  Pyeng  Yang;  but  sufficient  I think 
has  been  mentioned  to  indicate  the  importance  of 
the  city  as  a strategic  point  from  which  to  do 
religious  work.  As  a rather  wonderful  religious 
movement  has  sprung  up  in  this  northern  section 
of  the  country,  it  will  be  well  to  confine  our  at- 
tention to  the  opening  of  missionary  work  in 
Pyeng  Yang  and  its  vicinity. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission 
North,  Rev.  H.  G.  Underwood,  D.D.,  on  one 
or  two  occasions,  accompanied  by  Rev.  H.  G. 
Appenzeller  of  the  Methodist  Mission,  made  six 
different  visits  to  the  city,  while  on  his  way  to 
and  from  Eui  Ju,  in  the  northwestern  corner  of 
the  country,  where  he  had  work  started.  On 
each  of  these  occasions  he  spent  some  time  in 
preaching  and  selling  Christian  books;  and  at 


one  time  he  had  a couple  of  colporteurs  located 
in  Pyeng  Yang.  Upon  the  departure  of  Dr. 
Underwood  to  America  in  the  spring  of  1891, 
the  work  in  the  north  fell  to  the  portion  of  Rev. 
S.  A.  Moffett.  For  a couple  of  years  Mr.  Moffett 
made  spring  and  fall  trips  to  Eui  Ju,  spending 
some  time  on  each  occasion  in  Pyeng  Yang.  By 
1892  the  Presbyterian  Mission  had  reached  the 
conclusion  that  Pyeng  Yang,  in  preference  to  Eui 
Ju,  was  the  center  where  eventually  they  hoped 
to  open  their  station  for  the  work  in  the  north; 
and  accordingly  in  the  summer  of  that  year  Mr. 
Moffett  located  his  helper,  Mr.  Han  Sok  Chin, 
there  to  do  preliminary  work.  Mr.  Moffett’s 
policy  was  to  win  his  way  in  gradually. 

In  February,  1893,  property  was  secured  for 
Mr.  Han,  with  rooms  that  could  be  occupied  upon 
their  visits  by  Mr.  Moffett  and  Rev.  Graham  Lee, 
who  had  joined  him  as  a colleague  in  this  north- 
ern work.  The  Methodist  Mission  in  the  person 
of  W.  J.  Hall,  M.D.,  also  bought  buildings  at  the 
same  time.  While  the  people  of  the  city  showed 
a friendly  disposition,  the  city  magistrate  and  his 
underlings  disliked  the  presence  of  foreigners  in 
the  city  and  stirred  up  trouble.  Messrs.  Moffett 
and  Lee  thought  it  wise  to  give  way  before  the 
storm,  returned  the  property  bought  for  their 
helper  outside  the  city,  and  quietly  withdrew.  But 
8 


it  was  not  long  before  their  helper,  Mr.  Han, ’had 
again  bought  property,  this  time  inside  the  East 
Gate,  near  the  present  site  of  the  Pyeng  Yang 
church,  where  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  Mr. 
Moffett  quietly  returned  to  spend  the  winter,  this 
time  being  quite  unmolested  by  the  officials  of 
the  city. 

The  winter  was  spent  by  Mr.  Moffett  and  his 
helper  in  daily  work,  which  could  hardly  be  called 
preaching  so  much  as  familiar  conversation  with 
individuals  or  groups  of  men  wherever  they  met 
them,  whether  in  Mr.  Moffett’s  room,  where  most 
of  the  work  was  done,  or  upon  the  streets  in  and 
around  the  city.  And  the  especial  themes  to 
which  the  conversation  was  ever  brought  around, 
were  what  the  Bible  has  to  say  on  sin  and  the 
personal  need  of  salvation  through  Christ.  And 
it  is  worthy  of  note,  as  one  explanation  of  the 
wide  spread  of  Christian  work  throughout  that 
northern  region  from  Pyeng  Yang  as  a center, 
that  of  those  who  became  Christians,  many, 
whether  from  precept  or  example,  quickly  adopted 
the  spirit  and  methods  of  Mr.  Moffett  and  his 
helper  in  the  constant,  aggressive  “hand-pick- 
ing ” of  souls.  Let  it  be  observed  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  ever  continues  to  bless  the  faithful,  persist- 
ent, personal  presentation  of  the  teachings  of  the 
Bible  upon  these  great  themes  of  sin  and  salva- 

9 


tion  through  the  blood  of  Christ.  There  was  also 
a wide  sale  and  distribution  of  Scriptures  and 
other  Christian  books.  This  time,  in  short,  was 
a period  of  widespread  seed-sowing.  Nor  was 
this  all.  Mr.  Moffett  now  commenced  the  sys- 
tematic and  careful  instruction  of  a group  of 
“catechumens”  or  applicants  for  baptism,  that 
began  to  gather  about  them  as  the  result  of  their 
evangelistic  work.  In  January,  1894,  Mr.  Mof- 
fett had  the  joy  of  receiving  into  the  church  by 
baptism  seven  men  and  at  the  same  time  formally 
enrolling  as  catechumens  two  others,  one  of 
whom,  a Mr.  Han,  from  Anak,  in  Whang  Hai  Do, 
the  next  province  to  the  south,  I shall  have  oc- 
casion to  mention  again,  in  referring  to  the  spread 
of  the  work  into  the  northern  part  of  that  prov- 
ince These  men  began  at  once  to  tell  others 
what  they  had  learned  of  the  Gospel  truth.  The 
last  of  April  Mr.  Moffett  returned  to  Seoul. 

About  the  7th  of  May,  1894,  Dr.  Hall  of  the 
Methodist  Mission,  with  his  wife,  his  little  boy 
and  his  household  goods,  arrived  in  Pyeng 
Yang  and  moved  into  the  house  he  had  previously 
purchased.  The  second  night  after  their  arrival 
began  the  persecution  ever  memorable  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  work  in  Pyeng  Yang.  Seven  of  the 
native  Christians  were  holding  their  regular 
prayer-meeting  in  the  evening  in  the  room  of  Mr. 

10 


Moffett’s  helper,  Mr.  Han,  when  into  their  midst 
strode  a number  of  official  servants  of  the  magis- 
tracy and  proceeded  to  beat  them,  one  of  the 
servants  using  a ragged  piece  of  cord-wood.  They 
then  produced  the  red  cords  used  for  the  tying 
of  criminals  and  pinioned  their  arms  behind  their 
backs.  They  stated  that  the  order  had  come 
from  the  King  to  kill  them  all  for  being  Chris- 
tians. Then  they  started  with  the  party  for  the 
city  prison,  taking  with  them  from  the  house  next 
door  the  man  who  had  sold  to  Mr.  Han  the  house 
then  occupied  by  him.  On  the  way  all  were  re- 
leased with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Han  and  the 
former  owner  of  the  house,  whom  they  threw  into 
prison. 

The  same  night  some  one  brought  word  to  Dr. 
Hall  that  about  one  o’clock  a.  m.  some  one  had 
knocked  on  the  window  of  his  helper,  Mr.  Kim 
Chang  Sikie,  saying  that  the  Doctor  had  called 
him.  Mr.  Kim  promptly  opened  the  door,  when 
he  was  seized,  beaten  and  carried  off  to  prison. 
The  owner  of  the  house  bought  by  Dr.  Hall  was 
al.so  seized  and  imprisoned  the  same  night,  and 
the  following  forenoon  one  of  the  Methodist 
Christians  was  also  arrested.  Early  that  morn- 
ing Dr.  Hall  went  to  see  the  Governor,  but  was 
told  that  he  was  sleeping.  Going  to  th^  prison 
he  found  the  men  with  their  feet  stretched  apart 
u 


and  fastened  in  stocks,  in  such  a manner  as  to 
cause  them  intense  pain.  The  Doctor  tele- 
graphed the  situation  to  Seoul,  the  capital.  Dur- 
ing the  day  the  prisoners  were  beaten  and  money 
or  promissory  notes  to  considerable  amounts  were 
extorted  from  them  by  the  brutal  jailers.  A 
paper  came  from  the  officials  ordering  Dr.  Hall 
out  of  his  house.  Later  in  the  day  the  Doctor 
again  sought  an  interview  with  the  Governor; 
but  he  refused  to  see  him  or  grant  him  any  pro- 
tection. In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  came 
telegrams  stating  that  the  English  and  American 
legations  (Dr.  Hall  was  a British  subject)  would 
require  the  Foreign  Office  to  order  the  release  of 
the  men  and  the  granting  of  protection  to  Dr. 
Hall  and  his  family.  Then  a runner  from  the 
magistracy  appeared  demanding  the  paper  brought 
by  him  in  the  morning  from  the  officials  ordering 
Dr.  Hall  out  of  his  house.  They  saw  they  had 
gone  too  far  in  assuming  jurisdiction  over  a for- 
eigner. The  Doctor  refused  to  give  it.  The 
runner  stamped  about  in  a rage  and  finally  seized 
Dr.  Hall’s  servant  by  the  top-knot,  beat  him, 
kicked  him  and  ordered  him  taken  to  prison. 
The  Doctor  then  let  him  have  the  paper,  and  the 
man  went  away  satisfied. 

Night  settled  down  over  that  harassed  mission- 
ary home  and  the  group  of  tortured,  bleeding 
12 


Christians  in  the  filthy  prison;  and  what  earnest 
prayers  must  have  risen  to  God  that  night  for  de- 
liverance. In  the  course  of  the  evening  crash 
came  a great  stone  through  the  paper  window  of 
Mrs.  Hall’s  room.  But  we  are  told  that  God  so 
put  his  peace  into  those  missionary  hearts  that 
they  had  refreshing  sleep.  In  the  morning  the 
water  carriers  were  forbidden  to  bring  water  to 
Dr.  Hall’s  house.  A lying  report  came  to  them 
through  an  official  servant  that  a telegram  had 
come  from  Seoul  stating  that  the  American  and 
English  ministers  had  seen  the  King,  and  as  the 
result  of  the  interview,  among  other  things,  the 
order  had  been  sent  to  the  Governor  to  behead 
all  the  Christians.  Dr.  Hall  on  visiting  the  prison 
found  that  this  much  was  true,  the  prisoners  had 
been  removed  to  the  death  cell,  where  criminals 
soon  to  be  executed  are  confined.  All  day  they 
were  threatened,  beaten  and  tortured  in  the 
stocks.  They  tried  to  make  Kim,  Han  and  the 
other  Christians  renounce  their  Christianity;  but 
with  the  faith  of  the  martyrs  they  steadily  re- 
fused. Then  to  Dr.  Hall  came  the  rumor  that 
the  Governor,  who  on  account  of  his  being  a 
member  of  the  powerful  Min  family,  to  which  the 
Queen  belonged,  did  not  fear  punishment,  and 
was  about  to  telegraph  to  the  capital  that  these 
men  were  all  Tong  Haks,  or  members  of  the 

13 


rebel  party  then  rising  throughout  the  country. 

In  Seoul  all  this  news  as  it  was  telegraphed 
was  very  disquieting  to  the  missionary  community ; 
and  at  five  o’clock  that  afternoon  a special  prayer- 
meeting of  Methodist  and  Presbyterian  mission- 
aries met  at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Under- 
wood. In  the  meantime  energetic  action  was 
being  taken  by  the  legations.  The  British  Consul- 
General,  Mr.  C.  T.  Gardiner,  a diplomat  of  thirty 
years’  experience  in  China,  strongly  backed  by 
the  able  American  Minister,  Mr.  J.  M.  B.  Sill, 
brought  heavy  and  repeated  pressure  to  bear  upon 
the  Foreign  Office,  demanding  the  immediate  re- 
lease of  the  employes  and  Christians.  And  the 
missionaries  had  barely  gotten  home  to  their 
suppers  from  that  prayer-meeting  when  the  glad 
news  came  over  the  wires  that  the  prisoners  had 
been  released.  The  next  morning  at  day-break 
Mr.  Moffett  and  Mr.  McKenzie,  the  Nova  Scotian 
Presbyterian  missionary,  with  chairs  and  extra 
coolies  started  for  Pyeng  Yang,  to  travel  night 
and  day.  But  to  take  up  the  thread  of  the  story 
in  Pyeng  Yang.  The  night  previous,  while  the 
men  were  still  in  prison,  word  came  summoning 
them  before  the  acting-magistrate  of  the  city. 
Apparently  it  meant  that  they  were  to  be  exe- 
cuted. They  were  brought  before  him  and  made 
to  kneel  in  his  presence.  He  ordered  them  to 
u 


renounce  their  connection  with  the  foreigners  and 
to  revile  the  name  of  God.  The  two  house 
owners  who  made  no  pretensions  to  Christianity 
gladly  complied.  And  one  Christian,  who  had 
not  known  the  truth  long,  under  the  terrible 
ordeal  abjured  his  faith.  But  the  two  Christian 
helpers  with  the  faith  of  a Paul  and  a Stephen  re- 
fused to  do  so.  Instead  of  being  led  without  the 
city  to  their  execution,  however,  after  being 
beaten  they  were  released.  As  they  started  to 
go  an  official  servant,  who  had  been  one  of  the 
prime  movers  in  the  persecution,  set  up  the  cry, 
“They  are  all  Christians,  and  no  matter  if  they 
are  killed.  ” Thereupon  the  whole  pack  of  yamen- 
runners  started  after  them  with  stones.  Two  of 
the  Christians  escaped  down  side  streets  and  were 
not  pursued;  but  Mr.  Kim,  Dr.  Hall’s  helper, 
was  stoned  all  the  way  home,  and  staggering  into 
the  presence  of  Mr.  Hall,  sank  to  the  floor  nearly 
lifeless.  Mention  should  be  made  here  of  a school 
teacher  by  the  name  of  Yi,  who  was  at  that  time 
living  in  a village  ten  miles  out  from  the  city. 
He  was  a Christian  and  a friend  of  Mr.  Han,  the 
helper.  While  the  persecution  was  at  its  height, 
word  came  to  him  of  what  was  transpiring  in 
Pyeng  Yang,  and  he  immediately  declared  his  in- 
tention of  going  into  the  city.  His  friends  pro- 
tested that  should  he  do  so  he  was  liable  to  be 

15 


killed.  “ I cannot  help  it,”  was  his  reply.  “Mr. 
Han  is  my  friend  and  I am  going  in  to  help 
him.  If  Mr.  Han  dies,  and  the  need  should 
exist,  I will  die  with  him.”  But  by  the  time 
he  reached  the  city  the  prisoners  had  been 
released.  In  Soon  An,  some  eighteen  miles 
north  of  the  city,  there  had  previously  been 
a class  of  twenty  inquirers.  When  news  of 
the  troubles  in  progress  reached  there,  all  but 
three  men  renounced  what  little  faith  they  had 
and  these  three  hurried  into  the  city  to  learn 
the  truth  regarding  the  disquieting  rumors.  As 
these  three  men  afterwards  did  a notable  work, 
mention  will  be  made  of  them  further  on. 

After  the  release  of  the  prisoners  things  be- 
came quiet.  Messrs.  Moffett  and  McKenzie  pres- 
ently appeared  upon  the  scene  and  entered  upon 
an  investigation  of  the  affair.  The  authorities 
were  temporarily  cowed.  Dr.  Scranton  of  the 
Methodist  Mission  arrived  later  and  Dr.  Hall 
and  family  under  the  instructions  of  the  British 
Consul-General  withdrew  with  him  to  Seoul.  Mr. 
McKenzie  also  took  his  departure.  Few  people 
outside  of  the  Christians  were  coming  to  see  Mr 
Moffett  and  his  helper. 

It  was  drawing  into  the  heat  of  June  and  the 
yamen-runners  were  still  muttering  their  threats, 
when,  partly  to  get  a change  from  the  stifling 
16 


city,  partly  to  look  after  country  work,  and  partly 
to  see  what  would  be  done  by  the  authorities  in 
his  absence,  Mr.  Moffett  paid  a visit  of  a week  to 
Anak,  in  the  next  province  south,  where  he  stayed 
holding  meetings  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Han,  men- 
tioned above  as  a promising  catechumen.  After 
his  return  the  people  about  the  magistracy,  find- 
ing that  no  further  notice  had  been  taken  in 
Seoul  of  their  maltreatment  of  people  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  foreigners,  became  emboldened  and 
threatened  openly  to  kill  all  the  Christians  in 
Pyeng  Yang  as  soon  as  Mr.  Moffett  left,  and 
sometimes  going  so  far  as  to  threaten  the  life  of 
Mr.  Moffett  himself.  Upon  one  of  these  occa- 
sions a Mr.  Choi,  a notable  example  of  the  power 
of  the  Gospel  to  change  a reprobate  into  a decent 
God-fearing  man,  together  with  another  Chris- 
tian, took  fright  and  ran  off  to  the  country.  But 
after  wandering  about  for  a day,  their  consciences 
smote  them  so  that  they  returned  to  the  city  pre- 
pared for  any  fate. 

About  this  time  came  the  opening  of  the  Chino- 
Japan  war.  The  news  of  the  occupation  of  the 
capital  and  the  taking  of  the  palace  by  Japanese 
troops  created  a perfect  panic  among  the  citi- 
zens of  Pyeng  Yang.  The  Christians  alone 
were  calm  and  went  boldly  about  the  city  urging 
men  to  put  their  trust  in  God.  People  kept  com- 

17 


ing  to  Mr.  Moffett  for  the  news.  Women  thronged 
the  quarters  of  helper  Han’s  family  as  a refuge  from 
their  fears.  It  was  so  quiet  and  peaceful  there, 
they  said,  while  outside  all  was  wailing  and  con- 
fusion. This  peaceful  frame  of  mind  of  the 
Christians  made  a considerable  impression  upon 
the  people  of  Pyeng  Yang.  It  was  now  becom- 
ing really  dangerous  for  Mr.  Moffett  to  be 
away  from  the  capital;  but  so  long  as  the 
threat  of  death  hung  over  the  Christians,  he  felt 
it  wrong  to  leave  them.  The  American  Minister 
now  brought  such  pressure  to  bear  upon  the 
Foreign  Office  that  the  authorities  in  Pyeng  Yang 
were  compelled  to  refund  all  the  money  that  had 
been  extorted  from  the  prisoners  and  all  the 
expenditures  necessitated  in  telegraphing  and  in 
special  trips  to  and  from  the  capital,  amounting 
to  500  yen  (about  ($250),  which  amount  was  paid 
by  Governor  Min;  and  a form  of  punishment  was 
inflicted  upon  the  three  men  most  guilty  or  their 
substitutes.  This  broke  the  back  of  the  opposi- 
tion and  no  more  threats  were  heard.  News  of 
this  vindication  of  the  rights  of  the  missionary 
and  his  employes  spread  all  over  the  country  and, 
if  the  expression  may  be  allowed,  stock  in  his 
religion  showed  an  upward  tendency. 

Soon  after  this  the  Chinese  army  poured  into 
Pyeng  Yang.  The  position  of  Mr.  Moffett  had 
18 


become  precarious.  Although  he  did  not  know 
it,  only  a short  time  previous  Rev.  James  Wylie, 
a Scotch  Presbyterian  missionary,  had  been  mur- 
dered in  Manchuria  by  these  same  troops.  He 
remained  close  in  his  room.  His  servant  brought 
in  the  word  that  Japanese  heads  were  impaled 
above  the  city  gates,  and  all  with  their  hair  cut, 
even  to  Korean  Buddhist  priests,  were  being  be- 
headed on  suspicion  of  being  spies.  Presently 
the  Korean  Christians  held  a prayer-meeting  and 
at  its  close  adjourned  in  a body  to  urge  Mr. 
Moffett  to  leave  the  city,  as  his  presence  there 
was  now  no  longer  necessary  to  their  safety. 
That  night  he  called  on  the  Chinese  telegraph 
operator,  who  knew  him,  and  through  his  media- 
tion procured  an  interview  with  the  Chinese  gen- 
eral, as  the  result  of  which  the  general  gave  orders 
to  put  up  a notice  granting  protection  to  the 
“Christian  chapel”  and  detailed  a squad  of  sol- 
diers who  escorted  him  on  his  way  to  the  capital 
and  incidentally  seized  a city  farther  south,  from 
which  point  the  party  proceeded  unattended. 

Mr.  Moffett’s  first  contact  with  the  Japanese  lines 
nearly  proved  disastrous.  His  party  was  crossing 
a stone  bridge  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  when 
suddenly  out  of  a neighboring  house  rushed  four 
Japanese  soldiers,  who  in  an  instant  of  time,  with 
a click,  click,  click,  click,  brought  to  bear  their 


guns  upon  the  party.  Needless  to  say,  the  com- 
pany stopped  short,  in  danger  of  being  shot  for 
Chinese  scouts.  The  faces  of  the  guard  wore  a 
look  of  astonishment,  over  the  barrels  of  their 
guns,  as  the  tall  form  of  Mr.  Moffett,  crowned 
by  a tall,  white,  pith  hat,  loomed  up  out  of  the 
chair  in  which  he  had  been  riding.  A parley  was 
held.  Their  officer  was  called,  and  then  his  in- 
terpreter, who  happily  proved  a Japanese  drug- 
gist from  Pyeng  Yang,  who  knew  Mr.  Moffett. 
And  as  the  result  of  his  mediation  a pass  was  pro- 
cured which  enabled  the  party  to  proceed  through 
the  lines  in  safety  to  Seoul. 

His  remaining  thus  with  the  Christians  in  Pyeng 
Yang  until  the  last  moment,  while  personally  dan- 
gerous to  himself,  was  no  doubt  in  the  end  a help 
to  the  work,  inasmuch  as  it  gave  Mr.  Moffett  a 
powerful  hold  upon  the  affections  of  those  for 
whom  he  had  ventured  so  much.  From  the  time 
of  the  occupation  of  Pyeng  Yang  by  the  Chinese 
troops  a large  portion  of  its  citizens  fled  to  the 
country,  among  others  the  families  of  Christians. 
These  few  Christians  in  preparing  their  loads  to 
go  by  boat,  or  making  up  the  packs  they  were  to 
sling  upon  their  backs,  invariably  put  in  a parcel 
of  Christian  books.  And  then  in  the  villages  to 
which  they  went  they  followed  the  method  they 
had  seen  pursued  in  Pyeng  Yang  and  preached 
20 


the  Gospel  to  every  man  they  met,  with  the  re- 
sult that  in  those  villages  a number  of  people 
were  converted,  and  still  more  became  inquirers. 
Nor  was  this  all.  The  three  men  mentioned 
above  as  inquirers  in  Soon  An,  i8  miles  north 
from  the  city,  went  out  preaching  the  truth  in  the 
villages  all  around  their  home;  and  a Mr.  Yi  of 
Pyeng  Yang,  who  died  subsequently  of  cholera, 
having  taken  refuge  with  his  family  from  the 
alarms  of  war  with  Mr.  Han  of  Anak,  in  the 
Whang  Hai  province,  70  miles  from  the  city,  he 
in  company  with  Mr.  Han  went  all  through  the 
region  round  about  proclaiming  the  message  of 
the  Gospel;  and  from  the  work  done  at  this  time 
in  these  two  regions  to  the  north  and  south  of 
Pyeng  Yang  began  the  movements  which  have 
added  so  many  believers  and  inquirers  in  the  vil- 
lages of  those  respective  districts. 

Fifteen  days  after  the  battle  Messrs.  Hall,  Lee 
and  Moffett  returned  to  Pyeng  Yang.  A pitiful 
sight  met  their  eyes.  Large  portions  of  the  city 
had  been  laid  waste ; on  the  plains  round  about 
and  here  and  there  through  the  city  were  strewn 
the  dead  bodies  of  Chinese  soldiers  and  horses. 
Mr.  Moffett’s  quarters  they  found  had  been  looted 
by  Japanese,  while  Dr.  Hall’s  property  and  goods 
were  intact,  having  been  protected  first  by  the 
Chinese  and  latterly  by  a Christian  Japanese  doc- 
21 


tor,  whom  they  found  in  possession.  The  Japan- 
ese troops  still  occupied  the  city.  The  news  of 
the  arrival  of  the  missionaries  spread  through  the 
surrounding  country  in  an  incredibly  short  space 
of  time;  and  large  numbers  of  men  with  nothing 
but  a little  bundle  slung  over  their  backs  came 
flocking  into  the  city,  invariably  paying  first  a 
visit  to  the  missionaries  and  inquiring,  “Is  it 
safe,”  qnd  “What  is  the  news,”  before  returning 
to  their  ruined  homes.  For  some  time  thereafter 
the  movements  of  the  missionaries  were  watched 
with  breathless  interest,  and  the  day  they  returned 
to  Seoul  a large  number  of  men.  packed  up  their 
little  bundles  and  left  the  city  too,  so  timorous 
were  they  and  such  confidence  did  they  place  in 
the  judgment  of  the  foreigner.  The  missionaries 
were  astonished  at  the  heartiness  of  the  welcome 
they  received  upon  this  visit  from  Koreans  of 
every  class.  Even  men  who  had  before  opposed 
them  now  showed  a friendly  spirit.  Previously 
the  attitude  of  mind  of  the  people  of  the  city  had 
been  rather  distant  and  suspicious;  but  now  in  the 
light  of  the  sufferings  they  had  experienced  dur- 
ing the  war,  their  eyes  were  opened  to  recognize 
the  disinterestedness  of  the  missionaries.  Uni- 
versally they  seemed  to  have  come  to  believe  that 
they  were  the  friends  of  the  people,  persons  in 
whom  they  could  put  their  trust,  and  from  that 
22 


day  to  this  the  missionaries  have  experienced  noth- 
ing but  the  utmost  cordiality  in  Pyeng  Yang  upon 
the  part  of  the  Koreans.  The  change  of  atmos- 
phere was  especially  noticeable  in  the  number  of 
inquirers  who  from  this  time  kept  coming  to  them 
in  ever  increasing  numbers.  Perhaps  needless  to 
say  the  fullest  advantage  of  their  opportunities 
was  taken  by  both  the  missionaries  and  the 
Christians  in  pressing  home  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel.  During  their  visit  in  September,  1894, 
Messrs.  Lee  and  Moffett  repurchased  the  prop- 
erty which  gave  them  such  an  excellent  location 
and  ample  building  space  outside  the  city  gate, 
which  as  I mentioned  above  they  had  returned  to 
the  original  owners  a year  before.  After  a stay 
of  one  month  in  the  pestilential  city,  the  party 
returned  to  Seoul,  and  it  was  on  the  Japanese 
transport  steamer  going  back  that  the  noble 
hearted  Dr.  Hall  contracted  typhus  fever,  from 
the  effects  of  which  he  passed  to  his  reward  a few 
days  after  his  arrival  in  the  capital. 

Messrs.  Lee  and  Moffett  returned  in  January, 
1895.  This  marked  the  permanent  settlement  of 
the  station  in  Pyeng  Yang,  although  it  was  not  until 
May  of  the  following  year  that,  suitable  quarters 
having  been  prepared,  they  were  joined  by  Mr. 
Lee’s  family,  when  women’s  work  received  an  im- 
petus through  the  coming  of  Mrs.  Lee  and  meetings 

23 


for  women  were  begun.  Mr.  Moffett  and  Mr. 
Lee  now  settled  down  to  their  regular  work, 
which  consisted  of  daily,  informal  conversation 
with  inquirers,  instruction  of  Christians,  the  hold- 
ing of  regular  services,  wide  circulation  of  Chris- 
tian literature  and  frequent  journeys  to  the  sur- 
rounding country  following  up  the  work  of  the 
native  Christians  and  gathering  in  the  fruits  from 
their  seed-sowing.  From  that  time  until  the 
present  the  spread  of  the  spirit  of  inquiry  through 
the  city  and  in  ever  widening  circles  throughout 
the  surrounding  country  has  been  something  re- 
markable; and  one  of  the  most  interesting  feat- 
ures has  been  that  each  new  convert  has  been 
seized  with  the  spirit  of  the  movement  and  from 
the  time  of  his  conversion  has  become  an  active 
agent  in  the  spread  of  the  truth  among  his  neigh- 
bors and  friends.  And  so  the  work  has  grown 
until  the  number  of  mission  workers  in  the  station 
is  utterly  inadequate  for  the  proper  guidance  of 
the  movement  and  suitable  instruction  of  the  con- 
verts and  inquirers. 

To  be  sure  the  station  has  grown  somewhat. 
Since  the  summer  of  1895  they  have  had  for  a 
colleague  J.  Hunter  Wells,  M.  D.,  whose  enthu- 
siasm and  skill  in  his  profession  have  materially 
helped  the  work,  he  having  medically  treated  this 
year  4,000  patients;  and  at  the  time  of  writing, 
34 


Rev.  N.  C.  Whittemore  and  the  bride  of  Dr.  Wells 
have  just  arrived  from  home  to  join  the  station. 
But  still  the  number  is  inadequate. 

Allow  me  to  quote  from  the  report  of  Mr. 
Moffett  made  to  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Mis- 
sion held  in  October,  1896,  where  he  remarks: 
“I  want  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  na- 
tive Christians  have  by  word  of  mouth,  and  by 
printed  page,  and  by  the  testimony  of  reformed 
lives,  carried  the  Gospel  into  hundreds  of  towns 
and  villages;  and  could  we  but  follow  this  up  I 
believe  we  should  see  a most  remarkable  move- 
ment in  the  ingathering  of  thousands  of  believers. 
The  time  is  ripe  and  now  is  our  opportunity. 
Could  the  Board  send  us  new  men  to  care  for 
farther  off  regions  in  the  north  and  in  the  Whang 
Hai  province  ‘ ‘ (to  the  south)  ” the  present  members 
of  the  station  could  give  their  undivided  time  to 
the  fifteen  or  twenty  districts  nearest  Pyeng  Yang 
and  soon  have  this  region  dotted  with  churches 
in  hundreds  of  villages.” 

It  was  in  December,  1895,  that,  after  the  cus- 
tom of  the  Presbyterian  Missions  of  Korea, 
whose  native  work  in  the  country  districts  is  at 
present  organized  on  the  model  of  the  “Nevins 
system,”  that  is,  self-supporting  churches,  under 
the  care  of  unpaid  leaders,  who  are  chosen  from 
the  members,  Messrs.  Lee  and  Moffett  were 

25 


holding  their  winter  class  of  a month  for  the 
training  of  the  leaders  from  the  country  villages, 
and  of  the  helpers  of  the  missionaries,  and  were 
taking  them  through  a couple  of  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament,  seeking  at  the  same  time  to 
ground  them  in  the  faith  and  to  stimulate  their 
zeal  for  Christian  work.  Mrs.  Isabella  Bird 
Bishop,  the  distinguished  traveller  and  authoress, 
happened  at  that  time  to  visit  Pyeng  Yang,  and 
what  she  saw  of  the  winter  class  and  of  the  Christian 
work  in  general  in  the  city  made  a deep  impres- 
sion upon  her.  She  has  thus  expressed  herself 
with  her  gifted  pen; 

“I  am  bound  to  say  that  the  needs  of  Korea, 
or  rather  the  openings  in  Korea,  have  come  to 
occupy  a very  outstanding  place  in  my  thoughts.  ” 
“The  Pyeng  Yang  work  which  I saw 
last  winter,  and  which  is  still  going  on  in  much 
the  same  way,  is  the  most  impressive  mission 
work  I have  seen  in  any  part  of  the  world.  It 
shows  that  the  Spirit  of  God  still  moves  on  the 
earth  and  that  the  old  truths  of  sin,  judgment  to 
come,  of  the  divine  justice  and  love,  of  the  atone- 
ment, and  of  the  necessity  for  holiness,  have  the 
same  power  as  in  the  apostolic  days  to  transform 
the  live  of  men.  What  I saw  and  heard  there 
has  greatly  strengthened  my  own  faith.  ”... 
“Now  a door  is  opened  wide  in  Korea,  how  wide 

■jSa 


only  those  can  know  who  are  on  the  spot.  Very 
many  are  prepared  to  renounce  devil  worship  and 
to  worship  the  true  God  if  only  they  are  taught 
how,  and  large  numbers  more  who  have  heard 
and  received  the  Gospel  are  earnestly  craving  to 
be  instructed  in  its  rules  of  holy  living.”  . 

“I  dread  indescribably  that  unless  many  men  and 
women  experienced  in  winning  souls  are  sent  speedily, 
the  door  which  the  church  declines  to  enter  will 
close  again,  and  that  the  last  state  of  Korea  will 
be  worse  than  the  first.” 

Since  the  visit  of  Mrs.  Bishop  to  Pyeng  Yang 
in  the  winter  of  1895,  when  what  she  saw  im- 
pressed her  so  much,  the  work  of  the  church  in 
that  city  has  had  a still  more  remarkable  devel- 
opment. The  membership  within  that  time  has 
grown  three-fold,  and  the  church  building  has 
had  to  be  enlarged  four  times  to  meet  the  needs 
of  the  growing  congregation,  which  now  num- 
bers nearly  500  people,  with  a prayer-meeting 
attendance  of  150  men.  To  understand  the 
growth  and  present  status  of  the  work  in  the  north 
of  Korea  a few  statistics  may  be  in  order.  In  the 
spring  of  1894  in  Pyeng  Yang  and  its  vicinity 
there  were  10  baptized  members  of  the  church, 
with  perhaps  40  catechumens.  To  the  Annual 
Meeting  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission  in  October, 
1895,  there  were  reported  an  addition  of  21  bap- 
27 


tized  members  and  i8o  catechumens,  with  two 
church  buildings,  one  wholly  and  one  partially 
provided  by  the  Korean  Christians,  also  two 
more  churches  under  way.  In  October,  1896, 
for  the  same  region  there  were  reported  to  the 
mission  an  addition  of  136  baptized  members 
and  480  catechumens. 

Including  the  work  in  the  extreme  north,  center- 
ing in  Eui  Ju,  the  present  enrollment  of  the  whole 
station  is  207  members,  of  whom  19  are  women, 
and  503  catechumens,  of  whom  81  are  women, 
with  22  preaching  places,  and  contributions  from 
the  native  congregations  amounting  to  325  yen. 
This  year  also  has  seen  seven  more  church  build- 
ings provided  wholly  or  with  slight  help  by  the 
Korean  Christians.  One  word  of  Scripture  ex- 
plains this  whole  movement,  “The  Gospel  \%  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation.” 


